AP-National

By MATTHEW LEE AP Diplomatic Writer DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken returned to the Mideast this week pressing for agreements to extend the Gaza cease-fire, step up the release of hostages held by Hamas and limit Palestinian civilian casualties if fighting with Israel resumed. He left Friday with

By KATE BRUMBACK Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — An attorney for former President Donald Trump said Friday it would amount to “election interference” if his client is the Republican nominee for president while on trial in Georgia in the months running up to the general election. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee opened the

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California water agencies serving 27 million people will get 10% of the water they requested from state supplies to start 2024 due to a relatively dry fall. The state’s Department of Water Resources said Friday there was not much rain or snow in October and November. Those months are critical to

By KIMBERLEE KRUESI Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The U.S. Department of Justice has announced that Tennessee’s decades-old aggravated prostitution statute violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. The department warned on Friday that the state could face a lawsuit if officials don’t immediately cease enforcement. Tennessee is the only U.S. state that imposes a

VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) — South Korea has launched its first military spy satellite, a little over a week after rival North Korea claimed to put its own spy satellite into orbit for the first time. The launch on Friday from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base used SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. It was

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia City Council passed legislation to ban ski masks in some public spaces, a measure supporters say will increase public safety amid high violent crime, but opponents argue it will unfairly target people without proof of any wrongdoing. The legislation passed on Thursday with a 13-2 vote, and now goes to Democratic

By STEVE KARNOWSKI Associated Press The Iowa Supreme Court affirmed the hate crime conviction Friday of a man who posted hand-written notes at homes with rainbow flags and emblems, urging them to “burn that gay flag.” The majority rejected the claim by Robert Clark Geddes that his conviction for trespassing as a hate crime violated

By STEVE PEOPLES, THOMAS BEAUMONT, and MICHELLE L. PRICE Associated Press The chairman of most powerful independent group supporting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential ambitions has resigned. Never Back Down Chairman Adam Laxalt’s decision to step down marks the second major departure at the pro-DeSantis super PAC in the last two weeks. Laxalt, the former

By JEFF AMY Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia Republicans want to redraw the state’s congressional districts to create a new court-ordered Black majority district while maintaining the current 9-5 Republican congressional majority. The proposal released Friday shows they are again targeting Democratic U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath’s district for wholesale transformation. It’s unlikely that any

By FARNOUSH AMIRI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans are demanding that Hunter Biden appear this month for a closed-door deposition, rejecting his offer to testify publicly while pledging to release a transcript of the private interview for transparency. House Oversight Committee chair James Comer and Judiciary Committee chair Jim Jordan reiterated the parameters

By TODD RICHMOND Associated Press Michigan regulators have approved a $500 million plan to encase in a protective tunnel a portion of an oil pipeline that runs beneath a channel connecting two Great Lakes. The state Public Service Commission on Friday approved the proposal for the tunnel through the Straits of Mackinac. The project still

ROSWELL, N.M. (AP) — The International UFO Museum & Research Center in Roswell, New Mexico, is celebrating an out-of-this-world milestone: 5 million visitors. The Roswell Daily Record reported Friday that a father and daughter from Roswell became the lucky visitors when they entered the museum Nov. 21. Chris and Hannah McDonald received balloons, memorabilia and

By HARM VENHUIZEN Associated Press/Report for America MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin man has pleaded guilty to firebombing the office of a prominent anti-abortion group last year. Prosecutors say 29-year-old Hridindu Roychowdhury threw two Molotov cocktails through the window of Wisconsin Family Action’s Madison office on May 8, 2022, less than a week after

By JULIA FRANKEL Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — A weeklong cease-fire that brought the exchanges of dozens of hostages held by Hamas for scores of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel gave way Friday morning to resumed fighting between Israel and Hamas. As mediators scuttle between the warring sides in a last-ditch effort to broker another

ARLINGTON, Ind. (AP) — An Indiana coroner has identified the remains of a 17-year-old girl who vanished in June and whose body was found this week in a box buried on land owned by a man now charged in her slaying. The remains discovered Tuesday on property owned by suspect Patrick Scott were positively identified

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the Russian military to increase the number of troops by nearly 170,000 to a total of 1.32 million. The order came as Moscow’s military action in Ukraine continues into its 22nd month. It is the second such expansion of the army since 2018. Russia’s Defense Ministry

By EMMANUEL IGUNZA Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The leader of a doomsday cult in Kenya has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for the illegal distribution of films and operating a film studio without licenses. The senior magistrate in the city of Malindi, handed down the sentence for Paul Mackenzie, who had

By MIKE STOBBE AP Medical Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Flu is picking up steam while RSV lung infections that can hit kids and older people hard may be peaking, U.S. health officials said Friday. COVID-19, though, continues to cause the most hospitalizations and deaths among respiratory illnesses — about 15,000 hospitalizations and about 1,000

By BRENDAN FARRINGTON Associated Press TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says state Republican Party Chairman Christian Ziegler should resign while police investigate a rape allegation against him. Ziegler hasn’t been charged, but the investigation comes as the 2024 election heats up. DeSantis is running for president and the state GOP is working

By KAREN MATTHEWS Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York, will close in May 2024 after years of financial struggles. Officials at the century-old Roman Catholic college announced the decision to close on Friday. Board of Trustees Chair Jeffrey D. Stone said the board determined that the